


Exes and "Oh!"s

by astudyinfic



Category: Cut & Run - Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Genre: Humor, M/M, Not Beta Read, Post-Canon, Secret Relationship, attempts at humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:48:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24789520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astudyinfic/pseuds/astudyinfic
Summary: It's not every day that two dead men walk into your bookshop holding hands...
Relationships: Liam Bell/Preston, Zane Garrett/Ty Grady
Comments: 22
Kudos: 30





	Exes and "Oh!"s

It had been a quiet day at the bookshop. Too quiet, Zane realized far too late. He'd enjoyed the afternoon of sitting behind the counter and reading while their few customers perused the shelves and Ty did whatever it was that Ty did in the bookstore when Zane wasn't watching. They didn't have any deliveries, there were no 'orchids' in the backroom, and at the moment, everything was perfect. 

Which was why he should have known it couldn't last.

"No!" Ty's voice carried across the shop and all the customers looked around to see where it came from. Zane grabbed his gun and barely remembered to hide it from the regular customers when he went to find his husband. Most likely one of the cats was doing something it shouldn't and Zane was overreacting but considering their lives, better safe than sorry. 

He was not overreacting. 

"Aren't you dead?" he asked in a displeased drawl because of _course,_ a dead man would walk into their shop today. 

Technically speaking, two dead men.

Because Zane had seen Preston get shot. There was no way the man could have survived. And yet, he stood there before them now perfectly healthy. The spark of amusement in his eye was the only giveaway that he was enjoying this, far more than Ty was from the looks of him. 

Ty sputtered and flailed, looking at the two men in front of them. "Zane, what am I seeing? Do we have ghosts now?" While they both knew that Liam had survived the blast in Miami, the official report was that he'd perished in the explosion, along with Preston. So as far as the government was concerned, they really were standing in their bookstore staring at two dead men. 

Who were holding hands?

That was where Zane's brain was getting tripped up. How? Why? Huh?

"Tyler, darling," Liam drawled casually, "I'd like you to meet my husband. Preston, this is my ex, Tyler. I know you've met but formal introductions are so important."

Zane rarely saw any emotion on Preston's face. The man was a closed book and Zane would have hated to play poker against him. But for a moment, he looked confused, brow furrowing as he looked between Ty and Liam. "No, this is _my_ ex, Tyler. We met in Paris. Not the smartest thing I've ever done."

"Clearly," said Liam with a smirk. 

He couldn't hold it in any longer, laughing loudly as Ty made insulted noises at the two men. "This is what you get for having a history with every man with a gun in the northern hemisphere!"

Ty turned on him, giving him a shove that forced him to step back against a bookshelf. Righting himself, Zane raised a brow at his husband. "This isn't funny and you are supposed to be on my side!"

"I am on your side, always," Zane promised. "But you have to admit this is hilarious. This is even funnier than when you figured out Nick and Kelly were a couple. You didn't even know they knew each other!" Neither did Zane, other than they were both involved with the mission down in Miami. Other than that, he had no clue that Julian's right-hand man and the obnoxious whatever-the-hell Liam was at that moment, ever had any contact with one another. "So did you meet in Miami? Something about near-death situations bringing you together?" Not that Zane had any room to comment. He and Ty had grown closer with every attempt on their life so far. He was fairly confident they couldn't be any more in love than they were, though, so they could do without any more scares. 

Liam shook his head. "No, Garrett, do keep up. We've known each other for years. You tend to know everyone when you work in a field such as ours."

"Antiques?"

"Exactly. We get together every time one of our jobs puts us in the same place at the same time. Now that we are both dead, however, there are no more jobs so we decided to take the plunge. Seemed to work for you two." While Zane knew he was talking about them finally getting married, he couldn't help but think about Preston's body falling out of the building after he'd been shot, plummeting to the pool below. He literally _took the plunge_. 

He'd have to remember that one to tell Ty later.

"HOW?!" Ty yelled after a moment of eerie calm. The customers who were left in the store hurried to leave and Zane was thankful that the CIA was actually the one paying the bills as they occasionally had trouble getting customers to actually buy anything. Probably because Ty did what Ty does best and freaked them all out. When he wanted to charm them, he could, but most of the time, he just wanted them all to leave. And got his way in what was always a spectacular fashion.

"You're going to have to be more specific, Tyler. I would like to think you still understand the mechanics, otherwise, I feel for Garrett." Liam winked at Zane, probably to rile Ty up more. 

Stomping his foot (something Zane would mock him for endlessly after these two left), Ty growled. "No, how did I not know that the two of you knew each other, let alone were sleeping together?"

"The list of things you don't know could fill this bookstore." Preston, a man of few words, but important ones. Zane could see what Ty saw in him. He still wasn't sure about Bell. 

He could see the Tyrade coming a mile away. If he wanted to end this before there was bloodshed, Zane knew he needed to step in now. "So, congratulations are in order. How long have you been...married?" He tripped over the word, still trying to get it all straight in his head that Liam Bell and Preston Whatever-the-hell-his-last-name-is were married. Surely he would have noticed if there was something between them? Though Zane had so many other things on his mind in Miami, he probably wouldn't have noticed if they started fucking right in front of them. 

Well, no, he would definitely have noticed that. 

Liam glanced at Preston before answering. "Six months. After Miami, we went different directions for almost a year before met up again in Chicago." 

"Chicago? I didn't think you were allowed back in that town," Ty accused, pointing his finger in Preston's face who swatted it away immediately. 

"Julian Cross isn't allowed back in Chicago. No one knows who I am. It was fine."

"What name are you married under?"

"None of your fucking business."

Preston just smirked and Zane stayed back, watching it unfold. Ty was clearly flustered and Liam and Preston were enjoying it far too much. Zane didn't know if Liam and Preston actually knew about their shared connection to Ty before arriving but Zane found it rather funny watching them mess with his husband.

Ty glared for a moment before his features finally softened and he nodded. "And you're both happy?"

"Do I ever do anything that I don't enjoy, Tyler? Of course, I am," Liam replied. 

Preston stepped closer to Liam, wrapping an arm around his waist. "As am I."

"Good." And with that, Zane knew Ty was happy for his...friends? He still didn't know how to classify Ty's relationship with half the people in his life. Ty shook both their hands, pulling each of them into a hug. While he wouldn't say it out loud, Zane could tell Ty was relieved that Preston was still alive. Zane was also. One less death on their heads and on their conscience. 

Zane stepped forward to shake their hands as well. "While I hesitate to say you are welcome any time, it is good to see you both. Don't be strangers." He grinned, looking between the other three men. "So, if things don't work out between us, doll, should I look for another of your exes? Maybe dating you is the ultimate matchmaker."

He dodged as Ty took a swing at him and wrapped his husband up in his arms. "You aren't getting away from me, Zane. 'Til death do us part, remember?"

"Pretty sure that wasn't in the actual vows, Grady. Might have been in theirs though." Since they were both, technically dead.

Both Ty and Zane looked away from each other, but Liam and Preston were nowhere to be found. Ty sighed and rested his chin on Zane's shoulder. "They'll be back. Whether we want them to be or not."

The store was empty, the remaining customers had slipped out while they were talking with the other couple. "What do you say we take advantage of the empty store, go upstairs, and I take advantage of you?"

Ty's smile lit the whole store and Zane couldn't help himself. He pulled Ty close and kissed him. They were alive. Their friends were alive and happy and _married_. They had a lot of things to be happy about. 

"There was talk of going upstairs," Ty laughed, pushing Zane away. "If we're going to do that, we better go now before Cross and Cameron decide to show up and tell us they have a kid."

Zane laughed as Ty hurried to lock up. Their lives were crazy and he wouldn't trade it for anything. 

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell at me on [tumblr](http://astudyinfic.tumblr.com) or [twitter](http://twitter.com/astudyinfic)
> 
> Also, we made a [Cut & Run discord channel](https://discord.gg/KFfErkb) if anyone is interested in joining and yelling at us about the books we all love.


End file.
